COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Profiles of Significant Collective Bargaining Disputes of 2010
by Elizabeth A. Ashack
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Originally Posted: February 23, 2011
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) compiles data on work stoppages--strikes or lockouts--involving 1,000 or more
workers and lasting at least one full shift. These data have been published uninterrupted since 1947, with monthly data
available since 1993. This article presents the most recent labor statistics available on major work stoppages and discusses
the collective bargaining issues surrounding three significant work stoppages that occurred in the United States in 2010.
Mid-America Regional Bargaining Association Bargaining With Laborers International Union Of North America
District Council Of Chicago, The International Union Of Operating Engineers Local 150, And The Chicago
Regional Council Of Carpenters; Location: Chicago Area, Illinois
A nearly 3-week work stoppage that began on July 1, 2010, and ended on July 19, 2010, brought hundreds of construction
projects to a standstill in the Chicago area. Fifteen-thousand members of the Laborers International Union of North America
District Council of Chicago (LIUNA), the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 (IUOE), and the Chicago
Regional Council of Carpenters walked off the job, accumulating 180,000 days of idleness over the course of the strike,
making it the largest work stoppage in the United States in 2010 in terms of lost work days and the number of employees
involved.1
Members of the laborers union and operating engineers had been working without a contract since May 31, 2010,2 and
wanted a 15.9-percent wage increase3 over 3 years to offset the rising cost of health care. The Mid-America Regional
Bargaining Association, which represents the construction companies, offered a 3.25-percent hike over 3 years.4 “Union
representatives said their only option was to hit the picket lines. They forced our hand, said Ed Maher, spokesman for the
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 to the Chicago Tribune. Were simply not going to get jerked around
when were worried about maintaining health care for more than 23,000 members.” 5
The work stoppage came to an end the night of July 19, 2010, after 9 hours of bargaining.6 Negotiations resulted in an
agreement that gave union workers a 9.75-percent increase in wages and benefits over the next 3 years. “We went into
negotiations looking to cover the cost to maintain health care. What we came out of negotiations with was an agreement that
will allow us to do that,” said Maher.
The Allina Health System/United Hospital, Childrens Hospitals And Clinics, Fairview Health Services,
HealthEast Care System, Mercy Hospital, North Memorial Hospital, Park Nicollete Methodist Hospital, And
Other Hospitals Bargaining With The Minnesota Nurses Association; Location: Minneapolis-St. Paul,
Minnesota
The National Nurses United (NNU) union was formed in late 2009, when the California Nurses Association/National Nurses
Organizing Committee, United American Nurses, and Massachusetts Nurses Association merged.7 NNU now claims 155,000
members--which makes it the largest nurses union in the country.8 NNU has tapped into concerns of registered nurses
worried about losing jobs at a time when hospitals and health care organizations are under enormous pressure to cut costs.
NNU helped organize strikes or threatened them at hospitals in California, Pennsylvania, Maine, Michigan, and Minnesota
during 2010.9 NNUs biggest work stoppage took place on June 10, 2010, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, when 12,000 nurses in
the Minnesota Nurses Association, from 14 area hospitals, staged a 1-day work stoppage, accumulating 12,000 days of
idleness.10
Key issues in the collective bargaining contract impasse included the hospitals desire to cut contributions to the nurses
pension fund by a third, and nurses demand to improve patient-staffing ratios--a signature issue for the NNU.11 Nurses
have complained for two decades that there are not enough nurses in hospitals to provide high-quality care.12 Studies show
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U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
a correlation between higher levels of nurse staffing and better patient outcomes, but there are no national standards for
specific ratios. Only the State of California mandated nurse-patient ratios back in 2004.
Talks broke off June 4, 2010, after Federal mediators failed to broker a deal.13 A longer strike in July was averted with a lastminute 3-year contract that preserved pension and health benefits but failed to meet the unions demands for strict nursepatient ratios. Instead, the hospitals agreed to examine staffing in existing committee systems; the union is pushing for
legislation to set ratios.14 Additionally, the nurses agreed not to go out on strike over the term of the new 3-year contract. The
new contract went into effect upon ratification and remains in place until May 31, 2013, with the nurses receiving a 3-percent
pay raise over 3 years.15
New York Shipping Association And The International Longshoremens Association; Location: New York City
Area, New Jersey And New York
Dockworkers shut down the Port of New York and New Jersey container facilities September 28 and 29, 2010, as thousands
of longshore workers refused to cross informational picket lines set up by protesting Philadelphia-area dockworkers regarding
the labor dispute at their home port of Camden, New Jersey.16 The two-day Port of New York and New Jersey wildcat work
stoppage involved an estimated 4,500 members of the International Longshoremens Association (ILA), accruing a total of
9,000 days of idleness.17
The picket lines were set up by a Philadelphia-based ILA local 1291, 200 of whose members stand to lose their jobs when
Florida-based Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. moves its business from the Port of Camden to a port in Gloucester City, New
Jersey--a port that employs non-ILA workers at lower wages.18 The ILA members protested the companys decision to take
its business to the Gloucester City Marine Terminal, even though the union met Del Montes demand for $5 million in wage
cuts and other labor-cost savings.19 Earlier in September, the ILA launched a boycott of Del Monte products, and later in that
month the union asked AFL-CIO officials to initiate a nationwide boycott of the companys products by all AFL-CIO
members.
The dockworkers agreed to return to work the evening of September 29, 2010, just as their employers were preparing to ask
a Federal judge to order the ILA to pay $1 million per day in penalties.20 Port employers had argued that the longshore
workers refusal to work was illegal because their collective bargaining agreement contained a no-strike clause. Indeed, a
strike had not shut down the ports around New York City since 1977, said James Devine, the president and chief executive of
Global Container Terminals USA, which operates container ports on Staten Island and in Bayonne, New Jersey. On the first
day of the strike, it is estimated that ILA-represented dockworkers at the Port of New York and New Jersey idled 12 ships at a
cost of $50,000 each per day, said New York Shipping Association (NYSA) spokeswoman Beverly Fedorko, whose
association manages the port.21 Labor and industry officials said it was difficult to calculate the total cost of the work
stoppage, although it is bound to be significant in terms of lost revenues and wages.
Table 1. Major Work Stoppages of 2010
Organizations involved, location, and sector
Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA,
Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses & Allied
Professionals (State Government)
Industry
code(1)
Beginning
date
622110
3-31-10
Ending
date
4-28-10
Number of
lost work
days(2)
21
Number of
workers(3)
1,500
Days
idle(4)
31,500
Footnotes:
(1) Industry codes are from the 2007 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
(2) The duration of the strike, based on a 5-day work week (Monday through Friday) excluding Federal holidays.
(3) The BLS rounds figures to the nearest 100. Companies and unions may have rounded the figures before providing BLS the data.
(4) The days of idleness calculation shows the cumulative impact of lost workdays. It is computed by multiplying the number of workers idled
during the period by the number of work days lost, based on a 5-day work week (Monday through Friday) excluding Federal holidays.
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COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Ending
date
Number of
lost work
days(2)
Industry
code(1)
Beginning
date
North Penn School District, Montgomery County,
PA, North Penn Education Association (Local
Government)
611110
4-19-10
4-26-10
6
1,100
6,600
Capistrano Unified School District, San Juan
Capistrano area, CA, Capistrano Unified
Educators Association (Local Government)
611110
4-22-10
4-26-10
3
1,800
5,400
Oakland Unified School District, Oakland, CA,
Oakland Education Association (Local
Government)
611110
4-29-10
4-29-10
1
2,500
2,500
The Boeing Company, Long Beach, CA, United
Auto Workers Local 148 (Private Industry)
336411
5-11-10
6-4-10
18
1,700
30,600
Allina Health System/United Hospital, Children's
Hospitals and Clinics, Fairview Health Services,
HealthEast Care System, Mercy Hospital, North
Memorial Hospital, Park Nicollete Methodist
Hospital, Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, Minnesota
Nurses Association (Private Industry)
622110
6-10-10
6-10-10
1
12,000
12,000
Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors
Association of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, Sheet
Metal Workers' International Association Local 18
(Private Industry)
238220
6-14-10
6-25-10
10
1,800
18,000
Mid-America Regional Bargaining Association,
Chicago area, IL, Laborers International Union of
North America District Council of Chicago,
International Union of Operating Engineers,
Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters (Private
Industry)
237310
7-1-10
7-19-10
12
15,000
180,000
New York Shipping Association, New York City
area, NJ, NY, International Longshoremen's
Association (Private Industry)
488310
9-28-10
9-29-10
2
4,500
9,000
Hilton Hotels Hawaiian Village Beach Resort &
Spa, Honolulu, HI, UNITE HERE Local 5 (Private
Industry)
721110
10-14-10
10-18-10
3
1,500
4,500
HCA Corporation, Riverside Community Hospital
and West Hills Hospital and Medical Center,
Riverside and West Hills, CA, Service Employees
International Union Local 121RN (Private
Industry)
622110
12-23-10
12-28-10
2
1,100
2,200
Organizations involved, location, and sector
Number of
workers(3)
Days
idle(4)
Footnotes:
(1) Industry codes are from the 2007 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
(2) The duration of the strike, based on a 5-day work week (Monday through Friday) excluding Federal holidays.
(3) The BLS rounds figures to the nearest 100. Companies and unions may have rounded the figures before providing BLS the data.
(4) The days of idleness calculation shows the cumulative impact of lost workdays. It is computed by multiplying the number of workers idled
during the period by the number of work days lost, based on a 5-day work week (Monday through Friday) excluding Federal holidays.
Sources Of Information
Data from the BLS Work Stoppages Program are obtained from public sources--for example, reports from the Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), State Labor offices, BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) Strike Reports,22
the Internet, and media sources. One or both parties involved in the work stoppage (employer or the union) are contacted to
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U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
verify the duration and number of workers idled in the stoppage. For current data tables and additional information, see the
Work Stoppages Program page on the BLS Web site, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/wsp.
Elizabeth A. Ashack
Economist, Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning, Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
Telephone: (202) 691-5178; E-mail: [email protected].
Notes
1 The days of idleness calculation shows the cumulative impact of lost workdays. It is computed by multiplying the number of workers idled
during the period by the number of workdays lost, based on a 5-day work week (Monday through Friday), excluding Federal holidays. For more
information, see the BLS Work Stoppages Program monthly report, July 2010, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/wsp/ws072010.htm.
2 Marni Pyke, “Strike could halt Ike work, other local projects,” Daily Herald, June 29, 2010, on the Internet at http://saxo.dailyherald.com/
article/20100630/News/306309901/ (accessed February 15, 2011).
3 Duaa Eldeib and Jon Hilkevitch, “2nd unions OK expected in construction strike tentative deal,” Chicago Breaking News Center (online),
July 20, 2010, on the Internet at chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/07/2nd-unions-ok-expected-in-construction-strike-tentative-deal.html?
utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed% (accessed February 15, 2011).
4 Jenel Nels, “Striking Unions, Contractors Still at Odds,” NBC Chicago.Com, July 7, 2010, on the Internet at http://www.nbcchicago.com/
news/business/Construction-Strike-Talks-Resume-97927854.html (accessed February 15, 2011).
5 Nels, “Striking Unions, Contractors Still at Odds.”
6 See Eldeib and Hilkevitch, “2nd unions OK expected in construction strike tentative deal.”
7 See National Nurses United website, on the Internet at http://www.nationalnursesunited.org/pages/about (accessed February 15, 2011).
8 Lena H.Sun, “Growing National Nurses United union steps up strikes in aggressive new strategy,” The Washington Post, November 20,
2010, available on the Internet at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/20/AR2010112003592.html (accessed
February 15, 2011).
9 Sun, “Growing National Nurses United union steps up strikes in aggressive new strategy.”
10 For more information, see the BLS Work Stoppages Program monthly report, June 2010, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/wsp/
ws062010.htm.
11 “Minneapolis-area nurses strike for a day,” United Press International.com, on the Internet at http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/
2010/06/10/Minneapolis-area-nurses-strike-for-a-day/UPI-48941276192064/.
12 Sun, “Growing National Nurses United union steps up strikes in aggressive new strategy.”
13 See “Minneapolis-area nurses strike for a day.”
14 Sun, “Growing National Nurses United union steps up strikes in aggressive new strategy.”
15 Joe Carlson, “Minnesota Nurses Accept Contract, Avert Strike” Modern Healthcare.Com, July 7, 2010, available on the Internet at http://
www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20100707/NEWS/307079985 (accessed February 15, 2011).
16 Lorraine McCarthy, “Picketing: Dock Workers Honor Informational Picket, Shut Down New York, New Jersey Port,” Daily Labor Report:
News Archive, September 29, 2010, 187 DLR A-15, The Bureau of National Affairs, on the Internet at http://www.BNA.com (accessed
February 15, 2011).
17 For more information, see the BLS Work Stoppages Program monthly report, September 2010, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/wsp/
ws092010.htm.
18 Steve Strunsky, “Daylong shutdown at N.J. ports due to protesting dockworkers could prove costly,” The Star-Ledger, September 29, 2010,
on the Internet at http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/print.html?entry=/2010/09/union_dockworkers_shut_down_nj (accessed February
15, 2011).
19 See McCarthy, “Picketing: Dock Workers Honor Informational Picket.”
20 Patrick McGeehan, “After 2 Days, Dockworkers Agree to End Strike,” New York Times (online), September 29, 2010, on the Internet at
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/nyregion/30strike.html (accessed February 15, 2011).
21 See McCarthy, “Picketing: Dock Workers Honor Informational Picket.”
22 See CES Strike Report, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesstrk.htm.
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COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS
U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
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